Chapter 2

As I pushed open the door, the cheerful music inside came to an abrupt halt. All eyes turned to me.

The moment Lucas saw me, his hand, holding the ring, froze in mid-air. But he quickly composed himself.

"Whatever it is, we can discuss it tomorrow. It's a joyous occasion today. Have you looked in a mirror? You're a mess. Don't spoil the guests' mood!"

I could hardly believe my ears. Shouldn't he be explaining the situation to me? Why was he standing there in a tuxedo, happily exchanging rings with Chloe?

And why was Jack Thompson, the gang leader who had kidnapped and abused me, attending their wedding?

My mother's shrill voice snapped me back to reality:

"Where have you been, you ungrateful girl? Lucas was so good to you, and you ran off with that gang leader for a whole year! If you have no shame, at least think of the Evans family's reputation!"

Affair? How ridiculous. So this was how Lucas covered up his betrayal.

At that moment, Jack Thompson put his arm around me, squeezing my shoulder painfully as he smiled coldly:

"Still hiding our relationship from everyone? You really are disobedient."

His voice seemed to come straight from hell, full of naked threat and warning.

I shrank back, my gaze becoming unfocused.

Seeing this, the guests began to whisper among themselves:

"No wonder Mr. Graham is marrying Miss Reed. It turns out this shameless woman had an affair first. The Evans family must be so disgraced."

"Having an affair for a year without coming home once? I've never seen someone so brazen. The Evans family is poor and incompetent, but who would have thought their daughter would be even worse!"

"Hmph, her mother has been running around preparing for Mr. Graham and Miss Reed's wedding, trying so hard to please them. And her son is working as a servant at the wedding. Like mother, like son, I suppose."

...

Hearing the commotion, Lucas finally walked over to me, whispering impatiently:

"Couldn't you have come back tomorrow? I'm just giving Chloe a wedding ceremony. I've been planning this for a year, and we're so close to finishing. Are you deliberately trying to embarrass us?"

Just a wedding ceremony...

But what about me? For a year, I had been beaten and tortured, my body covered in old and new wounds. When I was hungry, I had to crawl on the ground like a dog to lick up rotten food.

So all my suffering and torture, even bearing the shame of being called an adulterer, was just to pave the way for their grand wedding.

I closed my eyes in despair and moved to pull Leo away.

"Come with Mommy, let's leave this place."

But my son recoiled as if electrocuted, suddenly falling to his knees and kowtowing to me in panic, muttering:

"No, no, no! Leo can't leave. I have to stay and serve Mr. Graham and Miss Reed well. I want to be their most obedient little dog!"